AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED, AS SOUTH CAROLINA'S WARTIME SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, TO SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR FRANCIS PICKENS, FROM CHARLESTON 17 JANUARY 1862, ON THE STATE'S FISCAL CONDITION

Charleston, 1862. Single leaf folded to [4] pp, in De Saussure's neat ink manuscript. Each page 7-3/4" x 9-3/4." A couple of fox spots, several archival repairs to old horizontal folds [a few letters affected]. Else Very Good.

A leading citizen and lawyer, the author [1822-1886] held many trusted offices in his State: Brigadier General, Adjutant General, and Inspector General of the Militia; Colonel in the Confederate Army at the occupation of Forts Moultrie and Sumter; member of the General Assembly; and South Carolina Secretary of the Treasury.
De Saussure endeavors "to review the past, consider the present posture of things, and to submit for your judgment the views which appear to me those suited to the new condition of public matters." He reports on the General Assembly's several appropriations and expenditures for military necessities, noting that some funds were "raised from all of the Banks of the State upon notes which fall due 2 April. . ." He discusses the necessity of settling accounts with the Confederate Government at Richmond, particularly for expenditures made for the defense of Charleston Harbor. (Inventory #: 39180)